My final demo at Summer Game Fest 2026 (I promise this is the last story) was the retro-anime-styled Orbitals. As a Switch 2 exclusive, it was also one of the bigger games being showcased inside Nintendo’s briefing area. Orbitals is billed as a two-player puzzle adventure game, which can be played both locally and online. The SGF demo area was styled like a ’90s-era kids’ bedroom — there were beanbags — with attendees paired up for their co-op session.
I quickly discovered that, unlike other recent co-op games like It Takes Two, there’s no major difference between the twin protagonists, Maki and Omura. During the demo, playing as the spectacled Omura, I was able to swap tools with my partner, and we decided between us who’d pilot the ship and who’d handle the ship’s guns.
With plenty of early exposition out of the way, our characters barged into their spaceship. It’s an asymmetrical co-op game, meaning you’ll mostly play in vertical split screen. We were soon picking up lasers and grappling hooks, and gently guiding you into how to solve puzzles in Orbitals.
It’s predictable but satisfying to nail your timing and simple experimenting. Part of the ship would rotate, and our duo would have to quell the fire before replacing covers or reconnecting simple circuitry, after extracting a unit with a grappling hook.
While not mind-blowingly challenging, I’d frame the puzzles as deviously playful. A press-the-buttons-on-screen task between my partner and me failed a few times, especially when the game introduced the equivalent of an Uno Reverse card. Honestly put, you play by messing up, learning from your mistakes, and hopefully not repeating them.
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